Microchips implanted in human bodies could transform the way we tackle many everyday tasks. Within the next two decades, we could see high-tech chips directly embedded into the human body, according to Steven LeBoeuf, the co-founder, and president of biometrics company Valencell, the leading innovator in performance biometric data sensor technology.
On Wednesday, at Consumer Electronics Show Asia in Shanghai, Steven in an interview with CNBC, said:
“I will say that in about 20 years from now, will not surprise me, based off especially some of the innovations by companies like Medtronic and some of the other players in this field, that people will be willing to get chips in their body. Still, humanity is far away from that yet: There’s a long way to go before we’re in people’s bodies en masse anyway.”
Numerous accuracy tests will still have to be conducted, and we would have to ensure that our body’s natural defenses would not attack the chip when it is inside the body, Steven added.
Dr. Steven also talked about how biometric earbuds are better suited for tracking exercise due to accuracy. Valencell’s leading biometric wearable technology allows heart rate monitoring through devices such as earbuds and even mobile phones. The ear is more accurate than the wrist for heart monitoring, especially in the gym and high-intensity training activities, Steven said.
In an interview conducted by News Medical, when asked if it possible for next generation wearables to monitor additional metrics such as stress, Steven said,
“Yes, depending on the definition of stress. There are many definitions of stress in the National Institutes of Health, so you have to be very specific. For example, if you are working out really hard one day, that’s going to affect your autonomic nervous system in a way that looks like psycho-social stress.”
When asked about how long will it take to develop next generation wearables, he said,
“Since Valencell is a technology provider in this space, we get to see a lot of what the future roadmap is going to be because we work with so many companies. Unless we’re authorized by partners, we can’t provide specific information, but we can provide sweeping generalities.”
